David Drury All The Stops - David Drury Collection CD

When the  mighty Sydney  Town Hall Organ, one of the wonders  of the musical world,  emerged  from  12 solid years of repairs and refurbishment  in the mid  1980s, the organist chosen to capture its magnificence on disc for the first time  was the Australianvirtuoso  David Drury. 

This 3CD set begins with  that extraordinary  recording, made  to celebrate the centenary  of this unique  and glorious instrument:  built by William Hill in 1890, the biggest and best-preserved 19th-century  Romantic organ in the world.Drury’s flawless technique is coupled with an extraordinary sensitivity to the vast range of tonal colours available on its 8,756 pipes, which  range in size from barely 10cm –no  bigger than a ball-point pen –to a record-breaking  64 foot (19½ metre) Contra-Trombone  stop.

There is music of whisper-light delicacy and music of earth-shaking grandeur, and every  possible shade and timbre  in between.  A second disc, released in 1993 and included  as CD2 of this collection, continues this magical pairingofmaster-organist and world-renowned instrument, while extensive liner notes trace the organ’s fascinating history.Disc 3 takes us to Melbourne,  where  Drury  explores the power  and the subtlety of another  splendid instrument:  the T.C.

Lewis organ in St Paul’s Cathedral. Across all three discs, Drury offers a dazzling range of repertoire, from monumental organ works  by Regerand Liszt to orchestral classics by Bach, Elgar, Saint-Saëns and Wagner, brilliantly arranged for the ‘king of instruments’. This collection also features three thrilling improvisations by Drury  himself –the only Australian ever to  win the prestigious TournemirePrize for improvisation.